"Mike Resnick - The Long and Short of It" - читать интересную книгу автора (Resnick Mike)

"No sexual perversions, no threesomes with animals, no wild orgies with totally disgusting sex toys?"

"Nope."

"Damn!" said Madame Nadine unhappily. Then: "Okay, the man you want to see is Marvin the Mystic."

"Where do I find him?"

"I seem to remember that the deal was a hundred bucks for his name," she said. "Nobody said anything
about telling you where you could find him."

Mallory reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill.

Madame Nadine frowned. "Five hundred."

"I already know his name," said Mallory. "I'll just ask one of the others where to find him. Come on,
Felina."

"Wait!" said Madame Nadine.

Mallory stopped and turned to her.

"You say ten, I say five hundred," she said. "Let's split the difference. Four hundred seventy-five and I'll
tell you."

"Let's split the difference," replied Mallory. "Eleven dollars and I won't ask someone else."

"All right," she said, holding out her hand. Mallory gave her a ten and a one. "If you'll go around the
corner you'll come to the Visitors' Locker Room. Marvin has appropriated the coach's office, which is
just off to the right."

"Thanks," said Mallory. He studied her face. "You only got eleven dollars. Why do you look so happy?"

"You'll find out," promised Madame Nadine. A maintenance man walked by, carrying a shovel and a
pail. "Hey, Mac," she said, all interest in Mallory gone now that the deal was completed, "guess your
fourteen favorite Andrews Sisters for a dollar?"

"There were only three," said Mallory.

"Depends which Andrews family you're talking about, doesn't it?" Madame Nadine shot back, never
taking her eyes off her new mark.

"Let's go," said Mallory to Felina, heading off toward the locker room and hoping he wouldn't pass
anyone rehearsing a trained bird act along the way.

They reached their destination, and Mallory looked around for the coach's office. It took only a moment
to locate the door, but a goblin, an elf, a troll and a leprechaun were lounging in front of it.

Mallory took a step toward the door, and suddenly all four of them turned to face him, shoulder to